Page 59 of The Sweetest Mistake

“Oh yeah?”

“She was about two years old, but she made me think of your Ava and what she might be like at that age.”

“If she’s anything like me, she’ll probably be a handful.”

“And gorgeous.”

“Well, thank you,” he said, grinning from ear to ear.

“You can’t take all the credit for that,” Julia reminded him.

“No, but she does look a lot like me, don’t you think?”

“Yes, she does.” And thank God for that. If she’d looked like a mini-Cam, that would have been even harder to take.

“Do you miss her?” Julia asked.

“You know what’s crazy? A while ago, I didn’t even know she existed, and now I can’t imagine my life without her.”

“I know exactly what you mean,” she said. Just like I can’t imagine my life without you.

Once they returned to the house and unloaded the groceries, Connor said, “One slight problem. I didn’t bring swim trunks.”

“Hmmm. I guess you’ll just have to swim in your tighty-whities.”

Eyes wide, he said, “No way in hell!”

“I’m teasing. Let me check in my parents’ bedroom. My dad probably has some trunks in one of the dresser drawers.”

She’d already started down the hall toward the master bedroom when she realized Connor wasn’t behind her. Turning around, she saw him standing at the opposite end of the hall with his hands on his hips.

“What’s wrong?”

“There’s no way I’m putting my boys in your dad’s trunks,” he said firmly.

She couldn’t help it. She burst out laughing and had to lean against the wall to stop from falling over.

“You think I’m kidding, don’t you?”

She couldn’t even form a reply she was laughing so hard.

“Would you do it? Would you put your goods into someone else’s swimsuit?”

Holding onto her stomach with both hands, she said, “Stop. I’m going to pee my pants!”

“See. Right there. That’s exactly why I’m not going to wear your dad’s trunks!”

Sliding down to the floor, Julia tried to contain her laughter, but when she glanced up at his serious expression, it made her fall into hysterics again.

“Okay. That’s it. Join me outside when you’re done,” he muttered and started to walk away.

“Connor, wait. You’ll be more comfortable if you wear trunks, and if it makes you feel better, you can keep your underwear on underneath.”

“Fine, but nobody hears about this, especially not my brothers.”

“Got it,” she said, trying not to laugh again. “Follow me.”

She’d forgotten how impressive the master suite was until they stepped inside. A vaulted ceiling and a wall of windows facing the lake made the room look even larger than it was. Connor walked around, admiring the space, while she started opening dresser drawers.